Ring for securing heads to containers



y 936. J. B. NORWOOD 2,040,779

RING FOR SECURING HEADS TO CONTAINERS Filed May 27, 1935 Patented May12, 1936 RING ron. SECURING amps 'ro CONTAINERS Jens B. Norwood,Chicago, Ill., asslgnor to National Steel Container Corporation, acorporation of Illinois Application May 27,

4 Claims.

for a full understanding of my invention and of its objects andadvantages, reference may be had to the following detailed descriptiontaken in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein: Figure 1 is atop plan view of .a container equipped in accordance with my invention,the head being locked in place; Fig. 2 is a view on 20 a much largerscale, similar to Fig. 1, showing only a. fragment of the container andthe ring opened or expanded; Fig. 3 is a section on a still larger scaleon line 33 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a section, on the same scale as Fig. 3,on line 4-4 25 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 5 is a section on line 55 of Fig. 1,thescale being substantially the same as that of Figs. 3 and 4.

Referring to the drawing, the container I, the head or cover 2, and thecontractile holding ring 30 3 are all old and well known and, ofthemselves, form no part of the present invention. The ring is dividedat only one point, so that it has two free ends which are spaced onlyslightly apart when the ring is tightly closed on the bead 4 on thecontainer and the bead-engaging lip 5 on the head or cover. I Fixed toeach end of the ring member is an inward projection lying in the planeof the ring, these projections being indicated at 6 and 1. The 40projection 6 is an L-shaped member one arm of which extends radially ofthe ring while the other arm extends laterally toward the projection I.The projection I is a short, wide plate which can move into the angle ofL in the projection 6 when the ring is closed. The member I has thereina cam-slot 8 which lies at a substantial angle to- 1935, Serial No.23,539

the projection I and has at its free end a cam roll 12 engaged in thecam slot, the diameter of the roll being equal to the width of theworking portion of the. slot. The roll is flanged at both ends, asindicated at l3, one flange overlying and 5 the other flange underlyingthe plate of which the projection I is formed, and preventing the rollfrom jumping out of the slot.

When the lever is swung in one direction, namely the counterclockwisedirection as viewed in Fig. 1, the projections 6 and I are spread apart,expanding or opening the ring, as shown in Fig. 2. 'While the ring is inthis condition it maybe removed from the container, releasing the heador cover. Upon swinging the lever in the clock- 15 wise direction, withthe parts as shown in Fig. 2, the cam roll rides in the cam groove inthe member I and forces this member laterally toward the member 6,contracting or closing the ring. It will be seen that because of theangle at which 2 the cam slot lies, the trailing edge bounding the slot,the left hand edge in Figs. 1 and 2, ex-

tends inwardly and laterally behind or under the cam roll so that thering end carrying the projection I cannot spring outwardly from thecontainer as the ring is tightened. Therefore, after the ring has beentightened on the container it cannot become loose until the lever isswung into a release position.

The long arm of the lever is curved so as to follow the contour 4 andlie close to the ring when the latter is in its head-securing position;and the free end thereof may be inserted under a suitable hook-shapedprojection II on the inner side of the ring at a point remote from thegap in the ring and be locked after having been tightened about thecontainer.

If desired, the lever may be made bifurcated at the angle thereof, as atIE, to embrace the supporting member 6. Furthermore, the cam roll mayhave trunnions at both ends, one to be received in an opening in thelever arm 10 and theother to have a bearing in one end of a strap l6underlying the members 6 and I; the other endof the strap extending intothe jaw I5 and being fastened by the pivot 9.

It will be seen that my improved construction is simple and rugged andthat a powerful leverage may be applied thereby forcibly to contract thering. In other words, the opening and 0105- ing means consists of asingle lever with its pin or cam roll, doing away with links or similarparts that have heretofore been interposed between an operating leverand the ring. The operating member may therefore be described as a rigidmember or as a one-piece device even though the strap l6 be a separateelement; this strap simply paralleling and being co-extensive with theshort arm 10 of the lever proper.

The slot 8 may be open at one end ii desired. However, in order toprevent the ring irom being spread too far, when ofl the container, theslot may normally be closed so that the cam roll cannot be withdrawnthereiroma To this end I have shown the cam slot as stopping short ofthe inner edge of the part I. The marginal strip of metal thus leftalong the inner end of the slot is cut through as indicated at l1 and,

in assembling the structure, the lips thus produced, may be bent inopposite directions to enable the cam roll to enter the slot. After theroll is in the slot the lips are again flattened and again constitute aneffective closure for the end of the slot.

While I have illustrated and described with particularity only a singlepreferred form of my invention, I do not desire to be limited to theexact structural details thus illustrated and described; but intend tocover all forms and arrangements which come within the definitions of myinvention constituting the appended claims. I claim: 1. A device of thecharacter described, comprising a divided contractile ring, said ringhaving inward projections in the plane thereof at the free ends, a rigidleverpivoted to one of said projec tions to swing in the plane oi thering, the second projection having therein a cam slot extendingtransversely of the adjacent part of the ring, a cam roll on one arm ofsaid lever engaged in said slot, and means on the ring remote from thefree ends to engage the other arm of the lever and hold it to lock thering ina contracted condition.

2. A device of the character described, comprising a divided contractilering, said ring having inwardprojections at the free ends, a onepiecelever pivoted to one of said projections for swinging movements in theplane of the ring, the second projection having therein a cam slot, onearm of said'lever extending into the first end of said secondprojection, and an element on said arm of the lever engaged in said slotto cause the ring to be contracted when the lever is swung in onedirection.

3. A device of the character described, comprising a divided contractilering, said ring having at the free ends inward projections, a onepiecelever pivoted near one end to one of said projections for swingingmovements in the plane of the ring, the second projection having thereina cam slot, the short end of the lever overlying prising a dividedcontractile ring having at the free ends inward projections, a bellcranklever having a long arm and a short arm pivoted at the angle thereoftoone of said projections, the

second projection having a cam slot transverse to the adjacent part ofthe ring, and a roller on the free end of the short arm of thebell-crank lever engaged in said cam slot.

J ENS B. NORWOOD.

